Who Am I?
A common theme this week has been people trying to discover their own identity. Who am I? Why am I alive? Is there some special purpose for me? Or, am I destined to struggle day in and day out, simply exist, and then die? What is the point? Is there a reason that we are all alive? Deeper thoughts on this post than most. The big question is – do we even have time to ponder why we are even...Learn More
Some Advise to New Therapists
If you want to become a counselor, there are a few tidbits of information I can pass along that I’ve gathered in the last 30 years of fieldwork: Practice good self-care. Continue to work on your personal issues as they present themselves. Never work harder than the client. It is okay to let there be silence in the session as the client searches their mind. This process is the foundation of...Learn More
Life and Loss
We had a common theme this past week at Basic Steps Mental Health and that was with loss. The subject of loss has many facets. There is loss of life, loss of a relationship, loss of health, and loss of purpose – as with retirement – to name a few. When we go through an abrupt change it can be startling. There is the classic Kubler-Ross stages of grief that can be used as a guide, in which I...Learn More
Befriending Bipolar
Bipolar Disorder has its ups and downs. Actually, that is the definition of the disorder. Clinically speaking, it is a disorder of the Hippocampus in the brain, which is the center of our wake/sleep cycle. The Hippocampus impacts the body by releasing adrenaline into the system. When the valve opens, it bathes the body with adrenaline and perks us up, however, this valve may stay open too...Learn More
Happy New Year 2024!
Welcome to a new year, with new hope of something better, perhaps an adventure, or a better job, relationship, and enhanced family relations. The question is – “Do you have hope?” If the desire isn’t there, then your odds of success diminishes. Tradition at this time is to create “new years resolutions” – you know the things you may want but know that it is impossible to achieve – so why...Learn More
Surviving a Crisis
In 2001, the first Mental Health Urgent Care center in the country opened and I was fortunate to be one of the founding members. It is shocking that I have never written an article on surviving a crisis because of the thousands of crisis sessions I have taken part in. I’ve learned firsthand that when a situation is beyond the coping skills of a person, they go into a crisis. Overwhelmed, it...Learn More
Making the Change
When you are sick and tired of being sick and tired then life becomes something to dread. I for one am all too familiar with waking up in the morning and wondering if, no, wondering when, I was going to have another panic attack. Then shortly after would feel my heart pounding. At that point, all I wanted was to do anything to stop my life from being a living hell. There is an art form to...Learn More
Mental Health Survival Tips
When situations are too much for a person to handle, they go into a crisis. Getting out of a crisis can seem impossible when the heart is racing, it is hard to catch your breath, or crying becomes so overwhelming you feel the tears will never stop. How to get out of a crisis takes a little know-how, a lot of effort, and many times support. This is not the time to self-medicate because you need...Learn More
Welcome Back from Vacation
Three weeks. Yeah, three weeks in Europe was amazing. I got the opportunity to do something I had never done before, experience life that was vastly different from what I was used to, and then BAM! back to work. My schedule was completely filled when I returned and of course, the basic operations of the facility had to be handled too, so let me cut to the chase – I need a vacation after this...Learn More